Intel Core i9-13900K and i5-13600K Review: Raptor Lake Brings More Bite

Today marks the release of Intel's 13th Gen Core series, codenamed Raptor Lake. The first models to be unleashed into retail channels are all overclockable parts, with six SKUs across the Core i9, i7, and i5 product segments. While we've seen Intel's heterogeneous or hybrid design with the launch of Intel's Alder Lake (12th Gen Core) products, the latest Raptor Lake core brings a very similar design to the table, but with subtle improvements designed to help give Intel the leading edge in the desktop market.

First of these is a new' Raptor Cove performance (P) core using a refined Intel 7 manufacturing process with some subtle yet critical improvements to the LGA1700 platform to help increase generational performance. Perhaps the most significant benefit comes from adding more efficiency (E) cores, with the flagship SKU, the Core i9-13900K, bringing a total of 24-cores (8P+16E). Which means Intel has effectively doubled the number of efficiency cores on the die.

While there are plenty of talking points, ultimately, the proof, or in this case, performance, is in the pudding. With AMD pulling the trigger on its new Zen 4 core built on TSMC's 5 nm process, does Intel's 13th generation Core processors have what it takes to go toe-to-toe with the impressive Ryzen 7000? We aim to discover how Raptor Lake shapes up in our review of the Core i9-13900K and the more affordable Core i5-13600K.